Posts Tagged ‘Virginia’
Charlottesville Joins National Day of Climate Action
From Anchorage to Miami, and South Portland to San Diego, thousands of people came out for the National Day of Climate Action this month. In Charlottesville, Appalachian Voices helped turn out perhaps the largest, most diverse environmental justice crowd ever assembled here.
Read MoreCoalfields Expressway
Virginia Highway Project Raises Questions about Relationship Between Coal and Roads By Molly Moore Ever since Appalachian coal began to power the Industrial Revolution, this fuel has influenced the location and condition of roads in the coal-bearing regions. In Virginia, a highway project currently under consideration — and partially under construction — is raising questions…
Read MoreWhite House POWER Initiative grants awarded
Efforts to increase employment, and develop and diversify the economies of historically coal-reliant communities just received a major boost. Earlier today, the White House announced $14.5 million in grant awards to organizations and projects occurring across 12 states. A majority of the three dozen awards, and most of the grant dollars, are going to plan or implement projects in Central Appalachia.
Read MoreRails To Trails
Former railways have been converted into beautiful biking and hiking trails across Appalachia.
Read MoreNatural Gas Pipelines Encroach on Appalachia
A circuit court judge ruled that a natural gas pipeline project could not survey private land without the owner’s permission.
Read MoreReaching for Virginia’s clean power potential
If Virginia takes a pragmatic approach to the Clean Power Plan, it can incentivize energy efficiency programs and drive growth in solar power — two ways to ensure a more secure grid and shrink bills for electric customers. But there are possible pitfalls too. That’s why it’s critical for Virginians to engage throughout the process, pressing state officials to advance a vision of safe, affordable and reliable energy.
Read MoreCitizen stories counter coal industry deception
Citizens and clean water advocates used a series of hearings on the proposed Stream Protection Rule to demand improvements to the draft version and call out state agencies for repeatedly failing to enforce regulations already on the books. Coal industry representatives, on the other hand, relied on “war on coal” rhetoric and deception to rally against the rule.
Read MoreSen. Kaine notes concerns to FERC about Mountain Valley Pipeline
Guest Contributor Dr. Diana Christopulos: Sen. Tim Kaine recently completed a series of listening sessions in communities where Mountain Valley Pipeline proposes to build a 42-inch natural gas transmission line, meeting with “affected property owners, local elected officials, local businesses, farmers, organizations dedicated to preserving our natural resources, and numerous other concerned citizens.”
Read MorePredictable politics giving way to popular support for POWER+
In Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, cities and counties with long histories of coal mining are advocating for the POWER+ Plan, a federal budget initiative proposed by the White House to build a more diverse economy in the communities hardest hit by the regional coal industry’s decline. They deserve to be heard.
Read MoreU.S. coal giant Alpha Natural Resources files for bankruptcy
Alpha Natural Resources, one of the largest coal mining companies in the United States and a big player in the Appalachian coal market, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday of this week, blaming “an unprecedented period of distress with increased competition from natural gas, an oversupply in the global coal market, historically low prices due to weaker international and domestic economies, and increasing government regulation that has pushed electric utilities to transition away from coal-fired power plants.
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